Jacob greener



'thereby causing a diminution of the vibrations of the tat-e5- @watJACOB GREE NER, OF

ELMIRA, NEW YORK.

Letters .Patent No. 86,747, dated February 9, 1869.

SOFT-PEDAL ATTACHMENT POR PIANO-PORTES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, J ACOB GREENER, ofElmira, in the county of Chemung, and State of New York, have invented anew and improved Soit-Pedal Attachment to Piauo-Foites; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, andexaet descriptionthereof', which will enable others skilled in the art to make and usethe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming partof this specification, in which- -V Figure 1 represents a plan or topView of my improved attachment to pianos.

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same.

Figure 3is a plan view of a piano-forte flame, provided with my improvedattachment.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

The object of this invention is to doaway with the pads which are nowused on piano-fortes, to muiile the sound, said pads'being introducedbetween thestrings and hammers, by means of the pedal-action.

These pads did not only mufde the sound, but changed also the nature ofthe same, as they were foreign elements, whose vibrations`, howeverslight, diiiered from those of the strings, so that sounds of anothercharacter were produced as by the strings alone.

My invention consists in the applica-tion of an upaud-down mljustablerail, which is connected with the pedal, and which, when raised, willmise the hamniels in such manner that their strokes will be reduced,

strings.

The advantages of this arrangement are manifold.

By not interposing any foreign substance between the string and haunnr,the character of the sound produced will always be the same, to whateverdegree the vibration may be diminished.

The motion of the elevating-rail can be regulated at will, so that thestrokes ofthe hammer may be shortened more or less, to produce just therequired reduction of sound.

By not having the pedal-action above the strings, more room is obtained,allowing a better bracing of the sounding-board, and preventing anyparts of the action from coming in contact with such sounding board.

` B B are the keys.

C C, the hammers.

D D, the strings.

All these parts, as well as the action, bridging, and trame-work of thepiano-forte, are of suitable construetion, and do not form part of myinvention.

E is a wooden or other bar, extending under all the Shanks, u, ofthehammers.

It is fastened to the ends of two which are pivoted to suitable lu theflame.

From these bars F, or from the rail E, project, down-A ward, rods c c,which rest with their lower ends on the ends of levers G, which arepivoted to the under side of the bottom, .A, as is clearly shown in fig.2.

These levers are connected to another pivotcd lever, H, as shown bydotted lines in lig. 1, and also in fig 2, andthe lever-H is connectedwith the pedal in snitable manner.

Therrail E may, however, be connected with the pedal in any other mannerthan that hereiubefore described.

Wheu the pedal is moved, the rail E will be elevated so as to raise thehammers, and to bring them nearer to the strings. When the hammers areplayed, their strokes will be reduced, and they will'conseqnently strikethe strings with so much less force that the vibra-tions will bediminished, and, with them, the sound.

To prevent the bridge E from being raised too high, a stationary stop,d, is provided.

It will, from the foregoing, appear that the performer can, by a slightand almost imperceptible motion of the foot, operate the pedal, so as toincrease or diminish the sound in such a graceful and harmonious manneras to produce the most perfect crescendo and diminuendo.

Having thus described my invention,

I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Pateut- The up-aud-downmovable rail E, when connected with the pedal of a pianoib1te,ibr thepurpose of elevating the hammers, substantially as herein shown anddescribed.

JACOB GREENER.

or more bars, F F, gs l1, projecting from Witnesses ROBERT STEPHENS,

A, in the drawing, represents the bottom board of a piano-forte frame. v

W. L. MULLER.

